Rafael Nadal's inspiring words after stunning comeback hailed as pure gold
Rafael Nadal is one step closer to winning his first ATP Finals title after beating Daniil Medvedev in a “one out of 1,000” match.
The Spaniard was on the brink of defeat at 1-5 in the third set when he fought to save a match point and rallied to win over Medvedev 6-7(3) 6-3 7-6(4), furthering his bid to reach the semi-finals.
“Sorry for Daniil. It’s a tough loss. He was playing much better than me in the third set,” Nadal said.
“Today is one of those days that one out of 1,000 where you win, and it happened today.
“I know from my personal experience how tough it is to close out matches, especially when you have two breaks in front and you lose the first one … I think I was a little bit better in the end. In general terms, I think I was playing much better than two days ago, so that’s a very positive thing for me.”
When asked whether his comeback could be an example for young players that “they should fight until the last point”, Nadal rejected the idea.
“Examples are not for one day. Examples are every day,” Nadal said.
“In my opinion, the example is not the comeback.
“Of course you need to be there and you need to keep fighting, but the example, in my opinion, is not break a racquet when you are 5-1 in the third or not be out of your self-control when the things are not going the right way.
“Just staying positive, staying on court, accepting that the opponent is playing a little bit better than you and accepting that you are not that good. That’s the only example, no? Because sometimes the frustration comes when you believe and you consider yourself too good and you don’t accept the mistakes that you are doing.”
Nadal’s win means Novak Djokovic has to win the title to have any chance of overtaking the 33-year-old as the world’s number one player.
Nadal is set to face Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday.